This nine-page letter written from Arthur H. Harris in Monroe, Louisiana, to his brother George Carroll Harris in Nashville is a conscious political treatise. The author is advocating and justifiying the secession of Louisiana at the upcoming...
Excerpts from a diary, 1834-1865, and memoir of early life, written by Jesse Cox (1793-1879), a Primitive Baptist minister and resident of Williamson County, Tennessee. He describes the hardships of life as an itinerant preacher, some religious...
Excerpts from the diary of William Luther Bigelow Lawrence. He details joining the Nashville Guards, the scarcity of provisions, and the surrender of Nashville. He proclaims the trampling of private rights by Federal soldiers, the fleeing of his...
Letter from Jane Smith Washington of Springfield, Tennessee, to her son, William L. Washington in Toronto, Canada, describing a confrontation with Federal troops. Mrs. Washington describes an extremely violent confrontation with Federal troops. In...
Civil Wars; War; Slaves; Agriculture; Political issues; Cities & towns
Excerpts from the Robert H. Cartmell Diaries. They contain full commentaries on the nature of his farm operation, the weather, and the fluctuations of the cotton market. They contain thoughtful comments on politics and candidates for office and...
Excerpts from a small handwritten diary written by Nannie Haskins, a young girl of Clarksville, Tennessee. Provides an insight into the day to day activities of an observant young girl. Haskins was strongly in support of the Confederacy and loathed...
Five-page letter written from John S. Brien in Nashville, Tennessee, to R. M. C[ornin], Esq. in Cincinnati, Ohio. The author expresses his views on secession, the Union, and Southern Rights as well as his hope for compromise. Says Brien, " I...
Letter from Robert A. Rutledge to his wife, Mary Minerva Rutledge, concerning his lodgings; his purchase of a trunk, a cot, and a quilt; his problems being appointed assistant surgeon; and the desire of the "Lincolnites" and "Bushwhackers" of...
Order from Confederate General James Longstreet, issued by Assistant Adjutant General William Small, directing the men to maintain their fortitude while enduring reduced rations and other hardships of the field, and presenting a letter captured...
Letter from Robert Rutledge to his father, G. R. Rutledge, explaining the strategic value of East Tennessee and the likelihood of a Union invasion. He implores his father to leave Cleveland, Tennessee, and flee south to Georgia before such a raid...
Letter from Arthur H. Harris to his brother George Carroll Harris in Nashville. He writes of the pervading excitement that has surrounded the 1860 presidential election in his area. Though he is glad the contest is over, he acknowledges the death...
Letter from Robert Rutledge describing a Union cavalry raid on his camp in which several men were wounded or captured and also a fight beween Harry Henry and an artilleryman in the camp. He asks about the condition of Mr. Runion, who has small pox;...
Two-page letter to his son George Carroll Harris of Nashville, Elisha W. Harris writes from his plantation Waco Place in Louisiana of attending a local political meeting. He details the zest the crowd displays for politics and the presidential...
Communication from J. S. Johnson in North Carolina containing Special Order No. 5 from General J. E. Johnston, C. S. A., commanding the officers and soldiers of the Confederate Army and Navy not to take up arms against the United States, and...
Correspondence; Fathers; Mothers; Campaigns & battles; Civil Wars; War
Letter from Mary Guthrie Latta to her husband, Samuel R. Latta, dated August 19, 1861. Although she has hoped that Samuel Latta's unit would be ordered into retreat in Tennessee, they have instead been ordered to New Madrid, Missouri.
Four-page letter from Beck Wallace to her cousin, Samuel Latta, of the 13th Tennessee Infantry, CSA, makes reference to her war work, particularly a concert she has helped organize in Macon to benefit the Southern Mothers in Memphis. She writes of...
Letter from Robert Rutledge expressing concern for his sick son, correcting an earlier assertion that a member of his company was killed, and describing plans to buy land in Texas. He asks his wife to buy needed provisions without concern for...
Correspondence; Cities & towns; Campaigns & battles; Troop movements; Surrenders; Military retreats; Generals; Civil Wars; War
A three-page letter dated February 28, 1862, from John S. Brien to John C. Crittenden. Brien rejoices that Buell's troops "occupied the city and country without the necessity of shedding one drop of blood." He argues that property rights must be...
Letter from Thomas Crutchfield Jr. to James R. Hood. Crutchfield makes an effort to prove his loyalty to the Union by recounting his opposition to secession, his informing the Federals of troop movements, his supplying of the Union army with...
